St. Landry democrat., 1887-08-13

Rev. DIR. Talmage's Sermon on the Chris
tian Principle Involved in Life and Fire
Insurance-The Entire System as Old as
the Corn-cribs of Egypt-Its Necessity.
THE HAMPToNs, August 1.-THE Rev.
T. De Witt Talmage's sermon for to-day
was on the important subject of life
and Fire Insurance the Christian Prin-
ciples Involved" His text was: "Let
him appoint officers over the land, and
take up the fifth part of the land OF
Egypt in the seven plenteous years. -
Genesis xii, "a.
These were the words of Joseph, the
president of the first life insurance COM
pany that the world ever saw. Pharaoh
had a dream that distracted him. He
thought he stood on the banks
of the river Nile, and saw COM
ing e up out of the river seven
fat, sleek, glossy cows, and they began
to browse in the thick grass. Nothing
frightful about that. But after them,
coming out of the same river, he saw
seven COWS that were gaunt and starved,
and the worst-looking cows that had
ever been seen in the land, and in the
ferocity of hunger they devoured
their seven fat predecessors. Pharaoh,
the king, sent for Joseph to decipher
these midnight hieroglyphics. Joseph
made short work of it, and intimated
that the seven fat cows that came out of
the river are seven years with plenty to
eat; the seven emaciated cows that fol-
lowed them are seven years with moth
ing to eat "'Now," said Joseph, "let US
take one-ffth of the corn crop of the
seven prosperous years, and keep it as a
provision for the seven in which there
shall be no corn crop" The king took
the counsel and appointed Joseph be-
cause of his integrity and philosophical
ness, as the president of the undertak-
ing. The farmers paid one-tifth of their
income as premium. In all the towns
and cities of the land there were branch
houses. This great Egyptian life insur-
ance company had millions OF
the dark days came and the
whole nation would have starved if
it had not been for the provision they
had made for the future. But now these
suffering families had nothing to do but
90 up and collect the amount of their life
policies. The Bible puts it in one short
phrase: "In all the land of Egypt there
was bread" say this was the first life
insurance company. 1t was Divinely Or
ganized. 1t had in 1t all the advantages
of the "whole life PLAN" of the ''tontine
plan" or the reserved endowment plan"
and all other good plans. We are told
that Rev. DR. Anhate, of Lincolnshire,
England, originated the first life insur-
ance company in 1898. MOI it is as old
as the corn cribs of Egypt; and God
Himself was the author and originator.
If that were not so I would not take
your time and mine in Sabbath discus
sion of this subject. feel it is theme
vital, religious and of infinite import, the
morals of life and fire insurance.
About ten or twelve years ago there
was great panic in life insurance which
did good. Under the storm the untrust-
worthy and bogus institutions were scat
tered, while the genuine were tested and
firmly established; and where does the
life Insurance institution stand to-day :?
What amount of comfort, of education,
of moral and spiritual advantage is rep
resented in the simple statistic that in
this country the life insurance companies
in one year paid seven million dollars to
the families of the bereft; and in five
years they paid three hundred millions of
dollars to the families of the bereft; and
oIcsp fn
selves in readiness to pay-tWo thousand
millions of dollars to the families of the
bereftl
They have actually paid out more in
dividends and death claims than they
have ever received in premiums: | know
of what I speak. The life insurance
than seven millions of dollars of taxes
to the government in five years. So, in
stead of these companies being indebted
to the land, the land is indebted to them.
To cry out against life insurance because
here and there one company has behaved
badly is as absurd as it would be for a
man to burn down thousand acres of
harvest field in order to kill the moles
and potato bugs-as preposterous as a
man who should blow up a crowded
SG6dHleE Ill uIu-dIldujlC lOT ILe puTpOSt
of destroying the barlacles on the bot
tom of the hulk.
But what does the Bible say in regard
to this subject? If the Bible favors the
institution, l will favor it; if the Bible
denounces it, / will denounce it. In
addition to the forecast of Joseph in the
text, call to your attention PauPs COM
parison. Here is one man who, through
neglect, fails to support his family while
he lives, or after he dies. Here is
another man who abhors the Scriptures
and rejects God. Which of those men
is the worse? Well, you say, the latter.
Paul says the former. Paul says that
man who neglects to care for his house
hold is more obnoxious than man who,
rejects the Scriptures: "He that pro-
videth not for his own, and especially
those of his own household, is worse
than an infidel." Life insurance COM
panies help most of US to provide for our
families after we are gone; but, if we have
the money opay the premiums and do not
pay them, we have no right to expect
mercy at the hand of God in judgment
We are worse than Tom Paine, worse
than Voltaire, and worse than Shaftes-
bury. The Bible declares tive are
worse than an infdel. After the certif-
cate of death has been made out, and
4h;rtv or siytv DAVIS have nassed and tho